[net.movies] ET *** SPOILER *** ET

toddv (06/22/82)

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1. Why didn't ET use his levitational powers to escape in the beginning of the
   movie?

   It's quite possible that he did.  As I recall, he couldn't walk any faster
   than two miles per hour even when in a hurry.  Yet in the woods he was
   scooting along nearly as fast as the bikes later flew.  There is no reason
   that I can see that he couldn't levitate himself just a few inches off of
   the ground.

2. Why exactly did Elliot (the younger boy) get drunk when ET did?  What kind
   of "link" was between them?  "He feels what ET feels." -- Older brother
   That really doesn't explain a whole lot.

3. What happened after ET tried to call his people (with the hoakiest apparatus
   I've ever seen in a low budget movie)?  How did he end up in the creek?

4. What exactly was the cause of death for ET?  HOW did his people revive him?
   Magic?  Abra-ca-dabra!


Can anybody offer explainations to clear up all the loose ends?

                       Todd Vierheller
                       teklabs!tekmdp!azure!toddv

otto (06/25/82)

I thought that the "hokey" apparatus used by ET was one of the best touches
in the movie.  It was clearly a children's film that adults could enjoy
as well.  The idea that an intersteller communications device could be
concocted from a combination of a Speak-n-spell, fork, string, aluminum-
covered umbrella, coffee can, etc. is clearly one that a child could
easily want to accept.  Didn't you, as a child, think that TV's could
be constructed from cardboard boxes with "something special" added to
them, or that an ordinary blanked if held up "just the right way" under
the light of the moon could turn it into a flying carpet or invunerable
armor?  I know I did, and the device ET created had *exactly* the same
feel.  It took me right back to my childhood.  No wonder Spielberg is
now considered the best director working in the US today. Right on!!

George Otto
Bell Labs, Indian Hill
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Staples.ES@PARC-MAXC@sri-unix (06/29/82)

Read the book.

felix (07/01/82)

The link between ET and the kid is EMPATHY, as anyone who reads SF/Fantasy
novels should know.

					Felix